


Baking at 4am

by soul_writerr



Series: Sleeping [1]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Episode Related, Episode: s18e11 Great Expectations, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 17:37:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17965070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr
Summary: Sonny had two types of nightmares: one that was so loud he’d wake Rafael up with the way he whined and trashed in bed and one that silently scared Sonny awake, so he’d get up and bake until morning.Apparently tonight it had been the latter.





	Baking at 4am

**Author's Note:**

> I was in the mood for some quick, soft, cozy lawyer boyfriends.
> 
> TW: this contains canon-typical mentions of bullying and violence

Rafael stirred awake, blinking sleepily to try and see his alarm clock. 4am. He groaned deep in his chest and reached for the spot beside him in bed, only to find empty air. 

His eyes widened in the darkness as he tried to shake off the sleepy fogginess from his brain. Rafael looked around the room quickly, checking the clock again once he managed to process that he was actually alone. 

Sonny had come home last night, Rafael remembered it clearly. They had dinner together and cuddled on the couch for a couple hours before going to bed. He hadn’t dreamed that, he was sure. So where was he?

Rafael threw the covers off and sat up, running a hand through his tousled hair and yawning loudly. He heard some fussing around the kitchen and sighed. Sonny must have had a nightmare. 

Sonny had two types of nightmares: one that was so loud he’d wake Rafael up with the way he whined and trashed in bed and one that silently scared Sonny awake, so he’d get up and bake until morning. 

Apparently tonight it had been the latter.

He stood up and opened the bedroom door quietly, walking down the hallway with soft steps. He stopped in the living room when he caught sight of Sonny, leaning on the kitchen counter. Sonny was skillfully whisking something in a bowl as he frowned, looking into nothing with his eyes unfocused. 

Suddenly, he blinked back into reality, turning his head to look at Rafael. His shoulders sagged and the corners of his mouth twitched down. “Did I wake you?”

Rafael walked into the kitchen then, snuggling up to Sonny’s side in a heartbeat, making sure not to disturb the big bowl he was holding in the other arm. Rafael smiled softly at him and then rested his face in the curve of Sonny’s neck, the perfect spot given their opportunistic height difference.

“You know I sleep better with you by my side,” Rafael muttered into Sonny’s skin, his voice hoarse from sleep. “You had a nightmare?”

Sonny sighed, setting the bowl aside so he could wrap both his arms around Rafael. “Yeah. This case triggered some bad memories for me.” 

Rafael placed two little kisses on Sonny’s neck and pulled back slightly to look at him. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Sonny’s frown softened. “You should go back to bed, Raf.” 

“I’m good here,” he whined, pressing his body closer to Sonny’s. He was so warm it took everything in Rafael not to purr like a needy cat. 

He heard Sonny let out a chuckle, and his heart clenched in his chest. “It’s just,” Sonny started. “I know there’s no point in thinking about ‘what ifs’ but if I had just spoken up, things would be different.”

“You don’t know that,” Rafael pulled back again, then wrapped his arms around Sonny’s neck. “Sonny, you were just a child. A child who went through something traumatic. You can’t blame yourself for trying to move on.” 

“But Rafael, a guy is dead,” he grimaced. 

“And you didn’t kill him. What, do you really think that if you had said something then, he would have changed and suddenly not killed that guy?,” Rafael shook his head. “He would have hated you even more if you snitched, and God knows what he’d do.” 

“See? But those are all the ‘what ifs’. We’ll never know for sure. Somebody could have helped him,” he mumbled.

“Somebody could have, but you had to help yourself first, Sonny. It was not your place to save him,” he said as he unwrapped his arms to caress Sonny’s face. He could see two tiny white scars, one on his temple and the other one close to his hairline. “You were just a kid. And I’m glad you chose to protect yourself because the only thing we can be certain of is that it lead you here. Right _here_ , right now.” 

Sonny smiled softly and leaned in, resting their foreheads together and sighing deeply. Rafael kept his hands on Sonny’s face; his beautiful, expressive perfect face that showed his emotions even when he tried to hide them. His gorgeous face, with lines that revealed how honest and eager he was. His face, with those stunning dimples that drove Rafael crazy half the time, and with a smile that floored him every day. 

He loved Sonny’s face, scars and all.

“Thank you,” Sonny whispered between them and, still caressing his cheekbones, Rafael leaned in to kiss him. It was a light press of lips that spoke of reverence, and Sonny instantly tilted his hair and pulled Rafael’s body flush into his, hugging him tight. “I love you,” he breathed when they parted. 

“I love you, too,” he said, and kissed his chin, cheeks, nose, jaw, and forehead, making Sonny giggle. When he pulled back, he made a point to look at the mess on the counter. “What are you baking?” 

“Oh,” Sonny looked behind him as if he had forgotten why he was in the kitchen in the earliest hours of the morning. “Just a simple chocolate cake.” 

Rafael looked at the clock on the wall. He could still get about one and a half hour of sleep if he went back to bed. But then he looked at Sonny again, and smiled. 

“How can I help?,” he asked, and Sonny beamed.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos make a writer squeal <3


End file.
